Here’s a fun crafty edible project for when you’ve got a bit of time. It’s not incredibly complicated, but to do it right you need to put a bit of care into this task. But the good news is, once you’ve mastered the art of Phyllo (filo?) dough the possibilities are endless. You can make lovely savory appetizers or even sweet desserts. This is one of those things that really impresses people. Until they learn to do it themselves. Then they’re like “whatevs”.

Phyllo dough isn’t as scary as some people make it out to be. The key is keeping it refrigerated until you’re ready to use it. And when you ARE ready to use it, it’s important to keep it from drying out, by draping a damp cloth over it.

Okay but we’ll get there later, let’s start with the delectable filling.

What you’ll need:

Olive oil

2 large leeks

1 package of button mushrooms

1 small red onion

One lemon, juice and zest

Brown sugar

Salt and pepper

Fresh herbs (optional)

Melting cheese ( I used parm and cheddar, but gruyere works very well too)

One package of phyllo dough

What to do:

Chop up all the veggies. Warm up some olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onions and leeks on medium for about 10 minutes until they get soft. Add some brown sugar, salt and pepper and continue to cook until they’ve reduced substantially.

Fold in the mushrooms and herbs (I also used some leftover spinach) and allow them to cook and soften as well.

Okay so now everything’s going to be a bit soggy so put the veggie mixture into a colander and press out as much of the liquid as you can. Put the veggies back into the pan (or a bowl) and grate at least a cup of cheese in there, some lemon zest and juice and mix well.

Okay it’s phyllo time!

Preheat your oven to about 350°

First, prepare a muffin tin by spraying or using a glazing brush to get the individual cups nice and greasy. (This will keep the phyllo from sticking to the tin, duh).

Unroll the phyllo dough and using a knife (I like to use a pizza cutter) cut the dough into squares. Prepare a little bowl with a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice (or just olive oil whatever)

Take a square and fill a muffin cup with the dough, glazing with a bit of olive oil. Add two more so that you’ve made a little cup using 3 squares of dough. Fill the little cup with mixture and fold the sides over the top so that you cover it all up. Glaze the top with a bit more olive oil. Repeat until you’re out of mixture or dough, or cups.

Bake in the oven for about 10-12 minutes. You want the phyllo to get golden but not burnt. When you take them out of the oven, wait a bit and then using a dull knife, gently pop the yummy tarts out of the muffin tin and place on a plate or board to cool off.

You can eat these right away, serve them cold (nah) or re-heat later on!